Chicago Cubs: Three free agent starting pitching options in wake of Quintana injury

Jose Quinta na’s injury could force the Cubs to turn to the free agent market.

On the precipice of the beginning of a condensed Major League Baseball season, the Chicago Cubs received less-than-stellar news when reports of Jose Quintana‘s accident broke. While at home washing dishes, it was reported, Quintana suffered a laceration on his left thumb, requiring five stitches.

Quintana received those five stitches and underwent microscopic surgery to determine the seriousness of the injury fully. The MLB season is set to kick off July 24. Quintana cannot start throwing for at least two weeks before a determination is made for the timetable on his return to the rotation.

A bad break for a Cubs team already in need of every starter to be healthy, this latest news poses an interesting question for the club. They could turn to Alec Mills as a possible spot starter until Quintana returns, or they could opt to look at the available pitchers on the market. If the latter becomes the course of action the front office pursues, what are some of the names we’ll be hearing?

Chicago Cubs: Matt Harvey is one option

I know what you’re immediately thinking: Why would the Cubs bring in Matt Harvey? Well, in his heyday, Harvey was one of the most dominant pitchers in the National League. From 2012-15, the right-hander carried a 2.53 ERA across 427 innings for the New York Mets. The veteran hutler posted a 2.65 FIP and 3.02 xFIP, respectively, working to a 21 percent K-BB rate.

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Unfortunately, Harvey suffered an elbow injury in the summer of 2013 and was never quite the same pitcher. He did have an excellent 2015 season where he pitched to a 2.71 ERA over 29 starts, but things went downhill from there on out.

In each of the 2016 and 2017 seasons, Harvey failed to reach 100 innings. The Mets traded him to Cincinnati midway through 2018, where he held his own with a 4.50 ERA over 128 innings. The following offseason Harvey inked a one-year/$11 million deal with the Los Angeles Angels. It did not go well as the former All-Star couldn’t entirely rebound to a respectable level, and the Angels eventually cut ties.

It’s clear that Tom Ricketts isn’t about spending money and doesn’t believe in the profitability of the game. Harvey is only 31 years old, which is on the much younger side in the grand scheme of the available free agents.

He put together two quality back-to-back starts versus the New York Yankees and Kansas City Royals last season and a couple more decent enough outings. To bring Harvey in on a minor-league contract for depth would be a low-risk move and one the Cubs could afford.

Chicago Cubs: The Clay Buchholz connection

A second option who could be very much considered as a possible free agent fit in the wake of the Quintana injury is Clay Buchholz. As a former teammate to Jon Lester and part of both world champion Boston Red Sox teams, Buchholz has connections to Lester and Theo Epstein.

Buchholz has been relatively inconsistent in his time in the majors. In his first cup of coffee with Boston in 2007, he posted a 1.59 ERA in 22 2/3 innings. He followed his dominant first stint up with a 6.75 ERA in 15 starts. His 2010 and 2013 campaigns were his best, and since then, this guy has been all over the map.

Interestingly, Buchholz is just a full season removed from a strong stint in Arizona. While pitching in the desert, the right-hander posted a staunch 2.01 ERA in 16 starts. Over a seven-start stretch from August of that year to September, Buchholz carried a 1.33 ERA and a 15.0 percent K-BB rate.

Unfortunately for the 11-year veteran, his numbers took a nosedive in Toronto. His ERA, FIP and xFIP all ballooned to unseemly numbers, and Buchholz saw his strikeouts go way down. The argument in favor of Buchholz is his 2018 numbers in the National League. He seemed to carry his weight just fine and, again, similar to the situation with Harvey, assuming the Cubs can get him on a minor league deal, there is minimal risk involved for a potential return.